Community Health Centres (CHCs)

Community Health Centres (CHCs) are non-profit organizations that provide education and advice to help families access the resources they need from other community agencies. You can find a community health centre in your area by selecting one of the offices in this list.

Warning: Not all Community Health Centres offer services in French.

HANDS-ON

The healthy choice
You will not necessarily find French speaking doctors and nursing staff in hospitals, medical clinics and doctor’s office. Make sure that you come accompanied of a friend or relative who can translate for you if you’re not comfortable in English. Call Telehealth Ontario for advice if you don’t understand your medical condition or the care or medicine you have been prescribed. Use bilingual sites like Women’s Health Matters to access reliable health information and resources in both languages.

Public Health Units

Ontario has public health units that administer health promotion and disease prevention programs to inform the public about healthy life-styles, communicable disease control including education in STDs/AIDS, immunization, food premises inspection, healthy growth and development including parenting education, health education for all age groups and selected screening services.

Its laboratories provide testing, related expert advice and research in support of the prevention and control of infectious diseases and the protection and promotion of the public's health in Ontario.

Public Health Units usually offer free dental care for certain target groups such as the elderly and children. Contact your public health unit for more information about the services they offer.

Warning: The French Language Services Act doesn’t extend to municipalities. However, some municipalities, like Ottawa, Cornwall and Sudbury among others, where there’s a higher concentration of Francophones, do offer services in French.

Viens vivre en Ontario

Ontario's Municipal Francophone Immigration website, Viens vivre en Ontario (in French) provides local information about French services and local information on education, business, employment and health in various communities across Ontario.

Tip: Use the Cities & Towns section to access municipal immigration portals across Ontario. Also note that the immigration portals for the cities of Kingston, Ottawa, Sudbury and Timmins are in both English and French.

Common Questions

Will there be anyone to assist me when I arrive?

Make sure you prepare well before you arrive and that you have all of the documents you need. Try to arrange for a friend or a family member to meet you at the airport so that you get all of the help you need. Know that you can always use the Services Near Me directory to locate services and programs available in your community.

Where can I find information about my new community?

Visit our Cities and Towns section for municipal information or use the Services Near Me directory to locate services and programs available in your community. You can also contact your municipality for information on recreational activities in your area.

How can I find a doctor?

You can find a doctor by searching the directory of doctors in Ontario. You may also use you local telephone directory to find a doctor in your community.

Where can I find a hospital?

You can find a listing of hospitals in Ontario on the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.

Does the Ontario Government offer health insurance to immigrants?

Permanent residents, temporary workers, convention refugees and other specific groups may receive coverage under the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) three months after arriving in Ontario. Apply for public health insurance as soon as you arrive in order to ensure you are covered after your first three months. Find more information on OHIP eligibility and health care in Canada.